Birding travel means different things to different people. For some of us, a sewage treatment center full of familiar but beloved birds is only a short jaunt away, and that scratches our itch. But that same location is full of exotic lifers for a visiting birder with wanderlust. In this issue, John Allendorf provides information on visiting the Village Creek Drying Beds near DFW International Airport in north Texas: a location close enough to the airport to make it a viable destination during a long layover!
For those seeking a destination for a quick tropical birding trip that’s only a short hop away, you seldom need look further than Mexico. Sheridan Coffey shares the genesis and results of her impromptu journey over a long weekend to the Cabo area of Baja California Sur—which is served by direct flights from western Canada and is under three hours by plane from major hubs in Texas, Arizona, and California.
It can be a bit intimidating to bird on our own in foreign lands, but Robbie Lisa Freeman tells us that Iceland is a great place to do just that, as she shares her experience driving and birding around the land of fire and ice—without a guide. Still, local guides can greatly enhance our travel experiences, as Dannie Carson relays regarding his trip to southern Portugal.
Like me, many of you are concerned about the ecological impact of travel, so Manuela Zapata Franco and Keith Valentine share with us some good news about conservation efforts in northern Colombia and South Africa, respectively, and how visiting certain locations can be a net positive for local communities and ecosystems.
The ABA strives to make heard the voices of historically marginalized and under-represented groups in birding, and though we’re making progress, the lack of diversity among our authors is concerning. We urgently want and need to hear more and varied perspectives in these pages, and we enthusiastically invite them to appear here!
I hope that there is something of use and interest to you in this issue. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me at mretter@aba.org with your ideas for future content. Even better: Write about it yourself for the next issue! Finally, please consider sharing this issue by giving your hard copy to a friend or family member when you’re done.
However and wherever you travel, I wish you a happy, safe, and bird-filled trip!
